Carlsen-Anand World Chess Championship 2014: First Game Tomorrow

The Chessdom website will provide live updates on the opening ceremony (today) and the games that will commence from tomorrow. The World Chess Championship is held in Sochi, Russia, and many pundits and grandmasters have given their predictions about the match. An excerpt of GM Sergei Shipov’s opinions of the match is also available on Chessdom, if one cannot access the original New in Chess magazine (2014 #7, which is behind a paywall). Shipov’s commentaries are almost always interesting and entertaining.

What can one expect? It’s safe to say that there won’t be many games starting with 1. e4 – the Berlin Wall has remained impregnable at top level games to date. Anand is likely to aim for more complex, double-edged positions with either colour, and to try to keep queens on the board. It is unlikely that Carlsen will change the style that has brought him so much success – squeezing his opponents in dry, technical endgames where his ability to conjure up relentless pressure is remarkable. Whoever can impose positions that are more uncomfortable for his opponent (or more comfortable for oneself in the case of Carlsen) will hold the initiative in the match. Anand will still remain the underdog in this match, although (perhaps it’s a generational thing?) I wish him all the best and will hope for an upset victory.